What is really going on with Barisic and Katic?

In recent days we’ve discussed the oddity of the puzzling injuries sustained by Croat pair Borna Barisic and Nikola Katic, especially in light of Steven Gerrard confirming on Friday there were no new injuries at all within the squad.

As mentioned earlier in our similarly curious piece focusing on other squad intrigue in the form of Eros Grezda and the soap opera that appears to be surrounding him, we were intending to cover the Croat pair as well today.

A comment on site about Barisic and Katic got us thinking; conspiracy theory alert.

In short, what if neither Barisic nor Katic are injured at all, but wanted to focus on getting their Rangers places back, their fitness levels up, and simply wanted to prioritise their club rather than the risk that comes with international football?

What if Steven Gerrard is well aware of this and gave both his blessing to withdraw on ‘injury grounds’ from the national team on this occasion?

We haven’t had any reason on what is wrong with Katic, and the best we have for Barisic is a ‘muscle rupture’ which is about as vague as it gets.

Both players have been regulars in training so Stevie will be well up to speed on their fitness status, and these days players definitely prioritise their clubs on a number of levels – sadly, playing for your country isn’t the honour and privilege or even priority it used to be.

Instead, the club who pays your wages is number one, and if both Croats withdrew purely to prioritise Rangers and getting fit for selection; we’d admire that entirely.